Once most of the food had been set out, everyone took their glasses and freely mingled between tables. Despite sitting next to me earlier, Ayaka had moved seats to another group that had asked her to come hang out.
It was perfectly natural to want the pretty girl to sit next to you, but the number of people calling for Ayaka to visit them exceeded my expectations. She was incredible. While I say she had a problematic personality, that didn’t mean she didn’t do well for herself. The sight before me now was proof of the many relationships she’d put real work into cultivating. She probably didn’t consider it “work,” but from my perspective, there was obviously a great effort involved, so I was happy to see her having fun talking with different groups of people.
“Hey, Yuuta? You’re staring at Aya-chan a little too much, no?”
A hand waved in my field of view. I blinked a couple of times. In front of me, Natsuki looked a little unhappy.
“Was I?”
“You were totally staring. You didn’t even react when I came back to my seat. It was kinda creepy.”
Oh, right. She went to the bathroom, didn’t she? Whenever I drank, people’s bathroom breaks started to seem startlingly short.
“She’s so pretty though, right? I understand why people want to stop and stare sometimes.” Idly shaking her highball, Natsuki continued, “And she’s got such a cute face and nice skin. God’s unfair, giving some people so many advantages from birth.”
“For real. She got a ton of ’em, too.”
“You don’t see a lot of girls as pretty as her, even in university. Our circle considers attractiveness as a factor for letting people in, so we have a lot of pretty girls, but I think she’s ahead by a lot. I know it’s subjective, but still.”
Even among pretty girls, Ayaka definitely stood out. Natsuki’s opinion wasn’t wrong.
I remembered how Shinohara stood out in a group as well.
Gotta say, it’s some luck that I’ve been able to build friendships with so many beautiful women.
There was something more concerning that Natsuki had said, though.
“You use attractiveness to determine if people get in? For real? This circle is scary.” I acted a little put off, prompting a peal laughter from her.
She’d complimented Ayaka before, but her smile was so friendly—thanks in part to the alcohol—that I knew she had to be popular with guys herself. Now that I looked around more closely, I noticed that all of the women here were pretty. She wasn’t joking about selecting for looks.
“Our circle is popular. Lots of girls from the nearby girls-only university come, too.”
“Huh,” I replied briefly.
Natsuki tilted her head. “Do you have an issue with that, Yuuta-kun?”
I dunno. It’s not bad enough for me to outright say I dislike it, but I guess you could say I’m not a big fan.
I wasn’t sure, and I was hesitant to give an answer based off of my kneejerk reaction, so I changed the subject by saying, “Just Yuuta is fine.”
Natsuki nodded back. “Okay, Yuuta. By the way, I think Aya-chan feels the same way as you.”
“Why’s that?”
Ayaka was going to be the next vice president. That was a big part of why I’d chosen not to find fault with this circle despite my feelings just now.
“Most people who try to join this circle did so without knowing that. Aya didn’t learn about it until later, and when she did, she was really mad.”
“Wow, that’s rare.”
“Is it?” Natsuki looked surprised.
It wasn’t rare when she was with me, but if she’d made an angry face in front of others, she must’ve hated it.
“It’s ironic because she benefited from it the most.” Natsuki’s ears were bright pink. I could tell she was really drunk by now. When she realized what she’d just said, she got flustered. “Sorry! I didn’t—”
“It’s okay. I’m sure you’re not the only one who thinks that sometimes.”
Ayaka herself probably wouldn’t blame people for thinking so. Though she wouldn’t take too kindly to a friend from her circle, one she’d shared meals with, saying it.
Preferring not to make a scene at a drinking party, I brushed off Natsuki’s slip of the tongue.
But she was still clearly uneasy about my attitude, so she added, “I mean it. Aya-chan’s a really good person, for real.”
Was she afraid of me telling Ayaka? Girls sure have it rough, I started to think to myself, but the same thing would probably happen if they were both guys.
“Don’t worry, I’m not telling her. Everyone’s tipsy, anyway,” I assured her, though I did wonder how Ayaka might react if the roles were reversed. If someone had said something mean about me, would she get mad for my sake?
“By the way…” Natsuki tried changing the subject. I just nodded along and let her. “Are you and Aya-chan going out?”
Ayaka again?! I groaned inwardly, but she seemed genuinely curious.
I answered honestly, “No. People ask sometimes, but we’ve never been like that.”
“Wow, really! I bet if you had a girlfriend, she’d be all jealous.”
“I don’t have one, so it isn’t a problem yet.”
“Did she get jealous when you had one before, though?”
She’s getting awfully invasive here. I was surprised—last time we talked, we’d just discussed manga and other media.
Apparently no longer interested in continuing the conversation, she put some nankotsu and Atka mackerel on my empty plate and said, “This place’s nankotsu is so good!”
After thanking her, I reached for more beer to drink.
“You still haven’t finished your glass.”
“It’s cool. I can double-fist.”
I held my drink well, so I’d be fine. There was a strange guy passed out on the table next to me, but I was confident I wouldn’t faint after just one hour of drinking.
“You sure drink a lot,” she said with a measure of surprise.
In this day and age, a guy who drank a lot and smoked lost a bit of universal appeal. I didn’t know if the women in this circle shared that view, but I opted to curtail my smoking tonight. Though I did have to wonder who I thought I was trying to look good for.
My pants pocket vibrated, so I took out my phone. Shinohara had sent me a message.
Senpai, when are you coming home tonight? I’m nearby right now.
I checked my watch: 8 p.m. I’d been told that I could hang out for four hours, so I still had two left in me.
I’ll be back on the last train tonight, so go home.
When I sent that, a reply came near-instantly. What do you mean, “go home”?! What the heck?!
I smiled a little. Natsuki noticed this and pressed me, “It’s a girl, isn’t it?”
“Is that what you think?”
“Has to be it. I can tell!”
I wanted to ask what made her so sure, but she was right, and it made me mad that I couldn’t prove otherwise. Now that I thought about it, it was bad manners of me to text when I was talking to someone face-to-face.
“Sorry for using my phone at the table.”
“Hm? It’s okay. I don’t care about that!”
“How forgiving. Thank you!”
“Ha ha! Yes, I certainly am!” Natsuki jokingly puffed out her chest.
My phone went off again. I’d expected it to be Shinohara, but it wasn’t. There was an incoming call this time.
“Whoa, sorry, phone call. I’ll step outside.”
“Wow, look at mister popular! Okay. It’s about time to switch seats, but I’ll wait for you here.”
“Oh, really? Thanks.”
They switch seats here? Maybe that was necessary to foster interaction in a circle this big. But Natsuki had said she’d stay there for me, so it sounded like it wasn’t compulsory. This is shaping up to be a nice party, I thought to myself as I got up.
I stepped out of the izakaya and checked my still-vibrating phone. It was an unregistered number, but a familiar one.
Feeling a flutter in my chest, I answered, “Hello? Hasegawa speaking.”
“Hello, Yuuta-kun.”
I recognized that silky smooth voice, perhaps too well. It dredged up a whole bunch of bad memories in my head.
“Reina…”
The caller was none other than my ex-girlfriend, Aisaka Reina.